docs(start): add Request Lifecycle guide

[LadyBluenotes]

Adds a new Request Lifecycle guide to the TanStack Start (React) docs that explains how a request flows through a Start app — from the server entry point, through global and route middleware, server routes, the server-function fast-path, and finally SSR.

As per #7499

Summary by CodeRabbit

Documentation

• Added a comprehensive "Request Lifecycle" guide detailing how requests flow through the framework's server infrastructure, including middleware execution, routing, and server-side rendering phases
• Included lifecycle diagrams and execution order documentation
• Updated navigation to surface the new guide

[coderabbitai]

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ℹ️ Recent review info

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Configuration used: defaults

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Run ID: 2d185fa9-6a79-4750-b521-db74385faf37

📥 Commits

Reviewing files that changed from the base of the PR and between 0ac831b and f7cea26.

📒 Files selected for processing (2)

• docs/start/config.json
• docs/start/framework/react/guide/request-lifecycle.md

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📝 Walkthrough

Walkthrough

This PR adds a "Request Lifecycle" guide for TanStack Start that documents the complete request flow from HTTP entry through server middleware, optional fast-path handling, route matching, and finally SSR delegation with streaming. It includes navigation integration, a mermaid diagram, detailed stage-by-stage documentation, and a reference summary table.

Changes

Request Lifecycle Guide

Layer / File(s)	Summary
Navigation entry and guide metadata docs/start/config.json, docs/start/framework/react/guide/request-lifecycle.md (header)	Add "Request Lifecycle" to the React Guides navigation menu and establish document structure with id and title.
High-level request flow diagram docs/start/framework/react/guide/request-lifecycle.md (lines 6–27)	Provide a visual overview of the complete request pipeline from HTTP entry through middleware, server functions, route matching, and SSR rendering using a mermaid diagram.
Server entry point and request context docs/start/framework/react/guide/request-lifecycle.md (lines 28–67)	Document the universal fetch entry point via createServerEntry, default auto-generated behavior, and module augmentation pattern for typed request context that propagates through the server-side chain.
Global middleware and server function fast-path docs/start/framework/react/guide/request-lifecycle.md (lines 68–108)	Explain global request middleware registration with next()-based flow control and context propagation; document the server function fast-path behavior for /_serverFn/ requests that bypass route matching and SSR.
Server routes and route-level middleware docs/start/framework/react/guide/request-lifecycle.md (lines 109–178)	Document file-based server routes with handler definition patterns, HTTP method semantics, co-location of API handlers and rendered components, and route-level plus handler-level middleware layering with execution order.
Handler delegation and SSR execution docs/start/framework/react/guide/request-lifecycle.md (lines 179–253)	Explain how handlers control flow delegation via Response return, next() deferral to SSR, or omission; detail SSR asset resolution, router load/dehydration, header building, HTML streaming, and custom stream handler configuration via createStartHandler.
Lifecycle summary and related guides docs/start/framework/react/guide/request-lifecycle.md (lines 254–271)	Provide a concise reference table mapping each request pipeline stage to execution scope and request-ending capabilities, plus links to supporting documentation.

Estimated code review effort

🎯 1 (Trivial) | ⏱️ ~3 minutes

Possibly related issues

• [docs]: Request Lifecycle Doc #7499: Directly implements the request lifecycle guide documentation as described in the issue.

Suggested labels

documentation

---

🐰 A guide to the lifecycle flow,
Where requests through the server go—
From fetch to SSR's glow,
Each middleware plays its role,
And streaming makes the system whole. ✨

🚥 Pre-merge checks | ✅ 5

✅ Passed checks (5 passed)

Check name	Status	Explanation
Description Check	✅ Passed	Check skipped - CodeRabbit’s high-level summary is enabled.
Title check	✅ Passed	The title 'docs(start): add Request Lifecycle guide' is clear, concise, and directly summarizes the main change: adding a new Request Lifecycle guide to the TanStack Start documentation. It accurately reflects the content added across both the config file and the new guide document.
Docstring Coverage	✅ Passed	No functions found in the changed files to evaluate docstring coverage. Skipping docstring coverage check.
Linked Issues check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.
Out of Scope Changes check	✅ Passed	Check skipped because no linked issues were found for this pull request.

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✨ Finishing Touches

🧪 Generate unit tests (beta)

• Create PR with unit tests

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[nx-cloud]

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☁️ Nx Cloud last updated this comment at 2026-05-30 02:38:53 UTC

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commit: f7cea26